Benefits Of Collagen Supplements for Aging

Aging is defined by some authors as a progressive, irreversible, intrinsic and universal process that every living being suffers as an expression of the interaction between the individual’s genetics and its environment. Avoiding aging with collagen supplements, has been one of the greatest ambitions of the human being, consequently combating aging represents a challenge for current medicine.

With the passage of time, most of the functions of the various organs and tissues of the organism diminish their activity, either by alterations in the cellular metabolic activity or by processes that affect said cells. All the systems of the individual present this process, but in each of them, it develops in a different way, which characterizes the old age of a great biological variability.

There are several theories that try to explain the aging process, one of them is the genetic theory, and the other that of accumulated metabolic errors, according to which an accumulation of anomalous molecules that compromise cellular functioning is produced. The genetic theory has proposed the existence of genes that would encode different functions, genes with beneficial effects in youth and pernicious when aging. Nowadays, the concept of genocosmetic is becoming fashionable. The genocosmetic is a personalized cosmetic since each person is different and not all skins are the same.

Skin aging is produced, among others, by a series of external factors, basically solar radiation, which accelerates it by modifying it not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. This aging has great social importance, hence the interest of cosmetics in this field, although when talking about aging it would be convenient to distinguish between intrinsic aging and photoaging.

In intrinsic aging, a series of morphological changes, fine wrinkles, benign neoplasms, a decrease in basal keratinocytes occur in the skin, which makes it harder to heal wounds, decreases the water content of tissues with age, decreasing the state of hydration of the skin and therefore its barrier function. The control of aqueous cutaneous content must be a primary objective in the prevention of skin aging.

Photoaging is the term used to describe the clinical and histological processes produced by chronic exposure to the sun. They have been used as synonyms, dermatoheliosis, and heliodermatitis, in reference to the inflammatory nature of the process. Its dermatological importance is related to the incidence of cutaneous alterations associated with this process and the great relationship with skin cancer. It is responsible for the roughness of the skin, wrinkles, yellowish color, telangiectasias, irregular pigmentation and a wide variety of benign, premalignant and malignant neoplasms.

The histological characteristic is dermal elastosis characterized by the disappearance of elastic fibers of the dermis, decreases collagen and glycosaminoglycans, hyaluronic acid (AH) and dermatan sulfate, being the decrease of hyaluronic acid and collagen responsible for the decrease of turgidity and elasticity of the skin, appearance of wrinkles and alteration of the dermal microcirculation. On the other hand, it should be noted that in the dermis there are seven distinct types of collagen that differ both in their quaternary structure and in their amino acid disposition. The most abundant are type I and III.

Anti-aging Collagen Treatments

The fight against cutaneous aging can be considered from two points of view; first of all with preventive character, delaying the manifestations of aging of the skin, and on the other hand with a restorative character, improving the condition of the aged skin.

The objectives should be to achieve a good hydration of the epidermis, protect from free radicals and solar radiation.

Proteins, short-chain ceramides, free fatty acids, and cholesterol derivatives can be used for epidermal hydration. Once hydration is achieved, we must delay the involution of the dermis by applying cell stimulants such as Gotu Kola extracts and thymus extract, vitamin C, vitamin A, pantothenic acid and fibronectin.

Reparative treatment Using Collagen Supplements

In this case, you should try to recover damaged tissues, stimulating the repair processes of molecules attacked by free radicals. Currently, there are many useful compounds for this type of treatment such as collagen, proteoglycans (among which are glycosaminoglycans heparan sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and chondroitin sulfate), glycoproteins, fibronectin, among others. However, collagen is the cornerstone in the treatment of skin aging.

Collagen is the most common protein in the body, accounting for 30% of all proteins present in the body. Collagen is responsible for providing elasticity, firmness, moisturization and constant renewal of skin cells.

The use of hydrolyzed collagen, either in cream or by oral intake, produces a remarkable increase in the activity of cells specialized in synthesizing dermal tissue. Once absorbed, the peptides from the hydrolyzed collagen induce the repair of the damaged dermal tissue and the synthesis of structural proteins that maintain the architecture and elasticity of the skin.

Several clinical studies support the beneficial effects of hydrolyzed collagen on the properties of the skin, such as better hydration, elasticity, and wrinkle reduction. It also detects better functionality of both the dermis and the epidermis. Therefore, it is concluded that hydrolyzed collagen is a useful agent to combat skin aging.

Collagen has also been used in dermal filler therapies. This technique is used to correct soft tissue defects of the face, such as wrinkles and skin folds, increase the size of lips and cheeks, and restore or correct the loss of fatty tissue in the face of people with HIV. Most dermal fillers approved by the FDA are temporary and achieve a tightening or “filling” effect that lasts about six months or more (these injectable dermal fillers are temporary because the body ends up absorbing them).